In the lead up to the "impending" launch - er, in March - of Starcraft II's Heart of the Swarm expansion, Blizzard are extending its beta to include pre-order customers.

Anyone who bought the game before December 18th through Battle.net has been added to the test, with later buyers being added in waves over the coming weeks. The beta client can be downloaded here , but if you're yet to secure access, turning up at the door and hoping to slip by unnoticed isn't going to work.

For retail purchasers, things are a little more complicated. So far only "select retailers", like Amazon, are offering beta keys. For anywhere else, unless they specify a key, you're probably going to be waiting for March.